When you wish Upon a star
by Alan Bates
Summary: A prelude


Disclaimer: Some people that AREN'T me own this stuff. I didn't get permission to use them either.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi were laying in their sleeping bags staring up at the sky. It was the first day of summer vacation and they had talked their folks into letting them have a sleepover at the island. The day had been very uneventful but very fun and now they were getting ready for sleep to take them. 

"Hey look at that!" Kairi pointed to a single bright star alone in the sky. " a wishing star. Quick everybody make a wish!"

"Why?" Riku asked.

"Because when you make a wish on stars like this, they're supposed to come true. So come on guys, what do you want to wish for?" Kairi begged the older boys

Sora, (who had not completely laid down anyway, jumped up to his feet and grabbed a stick. He stung it around through the air like a sword. "I wish that we could all get away from here someday and have a great adventure!"

"Calm down Sir Yaps-a lot." Riku teased him. 

"How about you?" Kairi asked.

"I wish I was stronger. I want to be the best!" 

"Well, I wish we had more friends here. Sometimes I just wish there were other people here besides the three of us." Kairi said. "but not that I don't like you guys either. It's just that their aren't anybody else our age around."

"yeah. That's now a bad one." Sora laid back down. "but aren't you supposed to NOT tell people your wishes? Or they won't come true or something?" 

"Don't be such a dork." Riku teased.

………………

"come on Squall come on!" Selphie jumped up and down with enthusiasm. 

"calm down, I'm going geeze…" Squall replied to her. He'd just been getting ready for a long training session in the combat arena and was hoping to get their before the others caught up with him.

"can't you show some enthusiasm? Birthdays only come once a year." Quistis replied with a voice that was both tired and scolding. 

"whatever." both Squall and Rinoa said at the same time. Squall looked over and gave her a cold look. 

"Knew you were going to say that." she smiled at him. Squall started to say his familiar catchphrase again but caught himself this time. 

"let's just get this over with. Where's Zell and Irvine?" Squall said debating whether he would bring his gunblade with him tonight or not. Really there was no debate. He was going to bring it. What he was thinking about was how the others would react. $!@^%# them.. They knew him long enough to know he always had it with him.

"Zell and Irvine are setting up. Actually they should be about done by now." Quistis informed him.

"come on! Let's go let' go!" Selphie grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out the door in the direction of the town.

"Look a shooting star." Rinoa pointed up. Make a wish everyone."

"This is so stupid." Squall sighed.

"I wish places like this didn't exist." Quistis said. Everyone looked at her strangely. "Don't get me wrong. I just wish there wasn't a place full of orphans like this. Maybe if there wasn't places full of them…I just don't know."

"well that makes me feel a little bit better about my wish," Selphie said. "I thought mine was bad. I just wished I was younger again. I know I know. Wishing you were younger on your 23 birthday…I just had so much I wanted to get done by now. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to work reaaly a lot hard to get those things done. Just wish I was younger so I had more time. What about you Rinoa?" 

"What do I need wishes for," she smiled. "Not only am I a sorceress I already have what I want." she smiled hugging Squall's arm. "and you?"

"don't want to say." he said. What he thought was 'I wish you all would just leave me alone.'

……………………….

Cloud stared up at the night sky. A ragged cape he had found was all that served him as a blanket against the cold. Things had gone so wrong in his life. So very wrong. And they kept getting worse everyday. The cold metal claw that now served as his hand was a testament to that. And He'd just had a fight with Tifa now, too. She was gone. It was going to be for good this time too. There was no taking back the things that he said. He stared into the black sky wondering why all this had happened to him when a single weak star caught his eye.

He remembered months ago, when Aerith had pointed out something very similar. It was so important to her that he wish on it. After he had done his best to think of something to wish for, she insisted that he not tell her. At the time it sounded dumb but now……

"I'm not sure." he said out loud. "sometimes I wish Sephiroth was alive. When I could have someone to take all my anger out on. Some to blame for all I lost….but mostly…..mostly I wish you were still here, Aerith. I wish you had never died…." the only answer he got was the whistle of the wind.

……………………………

"How the !!@#*^% did I get teamed up with a stupid ^%%!#@$#@ like you anyway? Cid yelled to his companion as they trudged through the woods.

"Stupid WHAT?!! ARGGGHHH! Why the …….!!!! Yuffie shook hr fist back at the man. "Don't we have enough problems finding were Tifa ran off to without you being such a jerk?"

Cid took his cigarette out of his mouth and blew the smoke into her face. "ya' take what ya' can get sometimes." she smiled back at her in his most annoying tone of voice. 

"yeah well I just want to know why I working with you? Why not Barret or Vincent?" she yelled back at him, she purposely held a branch back and let it go so that it would slap him in the face.

"@#$^%&&!^%$ ain't you got something better at' do that hang onta' Vincent's or Clouds' coat tails al the time? Bunch a' @$##!# is what I say bunch a' *&^*&#%@." 

"Geeze. I didn't realize you were this big of a jerk" She said.

"Hello. My ^$#%@! name's Cid Highwind. Don't think we've met?" he held out his hand for her to shake and chuckled at his own joke.

"man I just wish you'd cutout al that stupid swearing and smoking and just be a nice guy for a while."

"Yeah? And I wish you weren't such a materia loving freak who's always chasing Cloud and/or Vincent. While we're at it, why don't we just wish for a whole brand new ^@#$@! World at' live in?"

……………….

"Hey look at that!" Tidus pointed up. 

"What…is it?" Yuna asked him.

"you're supposed to make a wish." he told her and then turned to face his companions.

"Is that what happens were you live. People wish on stars and get things from them?" Lulu asked him.

"well..Yeah…..kinda…..not exactly. I guess it's just something to make you feel better or…." Tidus scratched his head, not sure how to explain the whole 'wishing star' concept to his new friends.

"Hope." Yuna said. "It's….a way…to express hope."

"Well I wish that I'd grown up here. And met you people that way. Instead of growing up with my stupid father the way I did. Just met you people, you know, one at a time like regular friends instead of al this Sin stuff."

"Let's get moving." Auron said walking up. "there's no use wasting time wishing for things that can never come true."


End file.
